Research indicating that 4.5 million people (14% of the labour force) in England and Wales are in insecure work (Report, 13 June) is a damning indictment of the deregulated flexible labour market policies pursued by Conservative and New Labour governments since 1979.

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While recent ONS data indicates that the employment rate is the highest since comparable records began in 1971, this does not inform us about the quality of jobs created. The Citizens Advice research reveals that more than 2.3 million people are working variable shift patterns, 1.1 million are on temporary contracts and 800,000 are on either zero-hours or agency contracts.

All too often, flexibility is now a euphemism for exploitation of insecure workers, and high-profile cases such as those of Sports Direct and Amazon are only the tip of the iceberg. There are too few regulatory checks and balances preventing poor working conditions. Trade unions are absent from much of the private sector nowadays. And, even if there were political will, it would be hard to regulate what is now a fragmented shadow economy – increasingly featuring zero-hours contracts, agency working, bogus self-employment and the “Uberisation” of online labour markets.

It is becoming clearer that the neoliberal system encapsulated by deregulated (unprotected) flexible labour markets has destructive impacts, except perhaps for the top 1% who extract most profit from it. For too long the mantra that there is no alternative to liberalising labour markets has dictated policy and practice.Professor Tony DobbinsBangor University

• A lack of regular hours and guaranteed pay can cause huge uncertainty and stress, as workers may not know from week to week if they will be able to cover their bills or rent, or put food on the table for their families.

As a charity helping people in financial hardship, this echoes what we regularly hear: 39% of low-income workers told us their outgoings outweigh their earnings, and 57% would like to work more hours but cannot get the work. In addition, 87% of all low-income households have seen no improvement to their financial situation within the past year.

Accessing welfare support can be a challenge for those with fluctuating hours and pay. Therefore we urge anyone who is struggling financially to use our free benefits calculator at Turn2us.org.uk to check what help could be available. It also includes a “better-off” function to show how a change in hours or wages could affect benefits entitlements and overall household income.

While more needs to be done to tackle insecure employment in the long term, we hope that we can help more people to find the support they need now, which could make all the difference in easing some of the pressures they face.Alison TaylorDirector of operations, Turn2us

• Gaby Hinsliff is wrong (Opinion, 10 June). The best weapon against bad bosses is not shame, but a strong trade union with its members prepared to take action against bad bosses and bad working conditions; ’twas ever thus.Tony SchröderLiverpool